Valentine’s Day is a like a crafter’s dream. There is so much inspiration surrounding this holiday, so it brings endless possibilities to express your creativity. I fully intend on trying my hand at several crafts this year, and one item on my list was to make mini Mylar metallic balloon toppers!
The Mylar metallic gold and silver balloons have become extremely popular — I am sure you have seen them at all types of milestone birthday parties and events. These chic accessories really add some fun flare! I have seen some really cute mini versions, but sometimes the cost is a bit steep. Plus, you usually only use them once, or they pop or deflate. So, I did some research and found out that these are pretty easy to make yourself — score! So, I quickly grabbed some supplies and tried my hand at it. The results were pretty awesome. It was probably one of the cheapest DIY’s I have done. They are fairly easy to make, and you can use them over and over again! 🙂 The secret to these are that they are not filled with air…they are filled with cotton! So, they will never pop!
I plan to use these adorable balloons as cupcake toppers on some Valentine’s Day treats for my man + use them to dress up the table at a Gal-entine’s Day celebration with the ladies! The best part about these balloons are they are not just for Valentine’s Day…you can use them for any occasion! So, go ahead…grab some supplies and create your own custom mini Mylar metallic balloon toppers!
What You Will Need
Gold (or Silver) Metallic Wrap Sheets
Skewer Sticks (or Sucker Sticks) — you can use tall or short sticks, whatever you prefer.
2 Inch Letter Stencils (You can easily print the ones I found online by clicking here. Click on the links below the “2 Inch” header on the top left. Simply print out on regular print paper or card stock and cut to make your own letter stencil).
*This post contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Cookies & Calligraphy may earn a small commission should you decide to click through and purchase these items. Thanks for supporting our blog!
Step by Step
- Print Your Letter Stencils: If you have 2 inch letter stencils, awesome! If not, I found some easily online (click here) and printed them out to make my own stencil.
- Create Letter Outlines on Gold Metallic Wrap: Lay out a sheet of the gold metallic wrap. Use your letter stencils to outline the letters you want to create, leaving a good amount of space in between them (see first picture below for an idea of how much space below).
- Create Letters with Cotton Squares: Using the square cotton pads, roll each square into a roll shape, and seal closed with hot glue. Glue down each roll onto where your letter outline is on the metallic wrap paper. Use the outline as a guide, and continue to create rolls of cotton to fill up the space to create your letters, and glue down each piece until your letter is complete. Some parts of your letters won’t need the entire cotton roll, so either cut in half or smaller as needed.
- Cut The Base Layer of the Metallic Wrap Around Each Letter: Once your letters are created and glued down to the metallic wrap paper, cut around each letter in a square shape. Make sure to give yourself a lot of wrap paper to work with around each letter — at least 1-2 inches around the letter.
- Glue Down Top Layer of Metallic Wrap Paper Over the Cotton Letters: With a separate sheet of metallic wrap paper for each letter, begin to glue the top layer of metallic wrap around each cotton letter that you have created. Get as close to the letter as possible, and hot glue a line of glue around the edge. From there, take your top sheet of metallic paper and press it down over the glue in order to adhere it to the base sheet. Try to press down and make it as flat as possible where the two sheets are glued together. Continue around the cotton letter until the entire cotton letter is covered with the metallic wrap. NOTE: When gluing the paper down, be sure to pull the paper as tight as you can across/over the cotton letter in order to prevent any empty spaces of air that has no cotton under it. For letters like O, or E, I suggest starting in the middle of the letter and working your way outward.
- Cut Out Your Letters: Once each letter is covered in metallic wrap paper and the glue has dried, cut out your letters! Using scissors or an Exacto-Knife, begin to cut around the letter as close as you can, but not past the glue! You now have cute little metallic balloon letters! 🙂
- Hot Glue Skewer Sticks or Sucker Sticks to Bottom of Letters: Simply hot glue the end of your sucker or skewer stick, and press it to the bottom of your letter. I found it easier to use skewer stickers (you can use long or short) because they have the sharp pointed end that can pierce through the metallic wrap a little bit. This ensured that the stick was secured to the balloon. I simply added some hot glue to the pointed tip, and stuck it through each letter at the bottom.
You now have cute little balloon toppers to use any way you like! You could even get creative with these and use different metallic wrap paper colors (red, green, blue, purple, etc.) and create all sorts of shapes! I used my letters as fun Valentine’s Day cupcake toppers, as pictured below.
Did you recreate this DIY project? Share with us! Be sure to tag your recreations of this craft on Instagram and Facebook with @cookiesandcalligraphy and include the tag #cookiesandcalligraphy.
